‘No fear of complacency or stagnancy in Schmidt’s camp’

Rob Kearney is confident that the current Ireland team can avoid the same sort of slump in form that kicked in after the Grand Slam title was won five years ago.

Declan Kidney’s team claimed the Six Nations title with a perfect five-from-five back in 2009, but hopes that it would mark a starting point towards further silverware were misplaced.

Ireland were still able to record significant stand-alone victories in the following four years but a lack of consistency proved to be the team’s downfall and, ultimately, that of Kidney who was succeeded last year by Joe Schmidt.

How the current crop reacts to their current lofty position after securing the championship on points difference with the defeat of France last Saturday remains to be seen, but Schmidt does at least have some experience of this type of thing.

The Kiwi claimed a Heineken Cup in his first season with Leinster and backed it up with another one 12 months later before adding a PRO12 title and an Amlin Challenge Cup to his and the province’s haul in year three.

“He doesn’t even let us leave earth to have to bring us back down,” said Kearney at an Aviva Car Insurance launch. “That’s one of his big strengths as a coach. He’s got good experience in the Heineken Cup to do that, with us being able to go back-to-back again.

“The coaching staff have that mentality and the players ourselves have that aspect where we want to continually improve. If you stay stagnant, other teams pass you by pretty quickly. If we can all take that mindset, we should be competing again next year.”

Kearney also hinted at a different mindset when he used the word “relief” to describe the latest success and Paul O’Connell touched on a similar theme after the French win when expressing his disappointment with how Ireland played in the final quarter.

That the side has more in its locker is beyond question and it will be fascinating to see how the core group develops as attention turns towards the remaining months of the club season and the upcoming tour of Argentina in June.

Schmidt spoke yesterday about how the circle “isn’t as tight as people perceive it to be” and it may be that the early reliance on Leinster players is diluted by others as they become more attuned to his wants and needs.

Ulster’s Andrew Trimble is the poster boy in that regard, morphing from outcast last November to one of the Six Nations’ best players, and Kearney believes that any initial headstart Leinster players may have had has quickly dissipated.

“When Joe came in at the very start, when he took over in November, there’s no doubt about it that as players we (Leinster players) knew what he likes as a coach and he’s probably changed us all as players into the way he likes the game to be played. But he makes it very, very clear to guys exactly what he wants from them.

“So, while we did have an advantage coming in in November, guys who are in camp were able to pick up on that pretty quickly. Guys who haven’t been selected, I believe Joe has spoken to them and given them a real clear template of, ‘this is what you’re not doing, I want you to do more of that’.”

Kearney spoke yesterday about the depth available in the back three and then, unsurprisingly, expressed his willingness to make the trip to South America despite a season where he has already played 19 times for club and country.

The Leinster full-back can understand the need for blooding others in Argentina and beyond ahead of next year’s World Cup, but he is one of those players whose job it will be to promote continuity over change.

“Maybe, I don’t know, but Joe would probably have liked to have used a couple more in the Six Nations. But if guys are given the jersey and perform well, you have to reward that and it’s very difficult to drop someone who has played well just by having the mantra that you want to build a squad.”